A mix of spoiler and expected wins dominated the finals of Mr and Ms Chinatown Philippines 2018 at the Mall of Asia Arena last night.

Moises Cleon Limyuen – who I previously predicted as spoiler on the male side – outpowered the strong favorites to be adjudged top winner along with early press pick frontrunner Marie Que who was crowned #1 on the female side.

Congratulations to both of you as well as the two sets of runners-up Martin Leonard Chua & Sabrina Ng and Brian Gocheco & Carly Jane L. Chua!

Making Final Predictions for Mr & Miss Chinatown Philippines 2018 is a task I initially thought was easy. Just pick the most good-looking or charming among them and that’s it. Through the several weeks that I followed their journey, it became more clear that it takes more than good looks and smarts to take it all the way to the top. I learned on my own perception (plus random conversations with some of the organizers) that the strength of a candidate’s Chinese upbringing is also of paramount importance. And that is what makes this national pageant unique from the rest. Aside from having either full-Chinese or Chinoy lineage, it also takes into consideration the multi-lingual upbringing that reflects a good facility to speak in Mandarin or Fukkien, just as English or Filipino. It also helps a lot to see if the person has achieved a good balance of both Chinese and Filipino values, while maintaining the best inputs of each culture in his/her personality.

In that light, I present to you my fearless forecast to do well this coming Sunday.

My top pair is Lawrence Chua and Sabrina Ng. In my opinion, these two individuals brought the best all-around performance in the different aspects of the competition. Having said that, my #2 pair is also a very strong duo. Jason Dy Tan is well-loved in local pageant circles because of his effortless PR skills and unmistakable stage presence, while Mikel Yap Villamora possesses a strong drive to win on her best merits. And her efforts are always well-earned.

Meanwhile, my two spoilers are Moises Limyuen and Danica Yao because I see these two as underrated. Given their chance to shine, no opportunity will be wasted.

Best of luck to all the candidates of Mr & Miss Chinatown Philippines 2018!

It has been a pleasure covering the entire pageant. Special thanks to Chinoy TV Chairman Loraine Tan, Chinoy TV President Alvin Kingson Tan and Pageant Director Mikko Araneta who welcomed normannorman.com as one of their three official media partners for 2018.

It’s no secret that I have been faithfully following the events and activities of Mr & Miss Chinatown Philippines 2018. As one of their official online media partners, I went out of my way to know all of the twenty-eight (28) candidates. By now, I have successfully bridged myself to each one of them. In the process, I got to know a great majority of them better than most.

One of the contenders I have managed to spend time talking to is Candidate #8 Marie Chrislyn Que who comes all the way from Butuan City. Aside from being a predominantly provincial Filipino-Chinese lass, I somehow found it a challenge to make her open up more and step out of her shell. Her beauty is hard to miss. In fact, members of the media started calling her as the deadringer of actress Marian Rivera. But more than the physical attractiveness, I like her humility and determined attitude.

“I really want to win Miss Chinatown Philippines 2018. At first, it was just to prove my parents wrong when they did not approve of my joining. But after weeks of immersion into this pageant, I have learned more about myself and why I really made a commitment to see it through beyond the finals. I want to be a role model for the Chinoy youth in the country and be the voice who can speak for their dreams and causes. I can say that I’ve really grown as a person and as future ambassador.”

Let’s see if Marie can further build up the momentum further for the September 2 Coronation Night at the MOA Arena. She has already earned enough stripes (read: Special Awards) to inspire her to bring the best version of herself in the closed door pre-judging all the way to the finals.

At the Ruby Ballroom of Crowne Plaza Manila, the Press Presentation of Mr & Ms Chinatown Philippines 2018 was held with the combined presence of both the Local (TV, Print & Online) and Chinese media. The twenty-eight Official Candidates (14 Men, 14 Women) were individually introduced in their distinctly Chinese attires as well as casual getups. The guests were visibly impressed with the roster this year, especially the academic and professional credentials that they proudly stated during the introductions.

A lengthy and lively open mic forum with the candidates dominated the event as the guests made sure that everyone was given a chance to speak their minds out on an assortment of questions ranging from personal advocacy to racial discrimination to role models/inspirations to the hashtag of the pageant – #BeautyindiverCHIty.

Miss Chinatown Foundation Chairman Wilson Agbayani and Chinoy TV President Alvin Kingson Tan were around to welcome everyone as they led the proceedings with their individual speeches about this year’s edition of the pageant that has significantly leveled up to the national status for 2018 with candidates coming not only from NCR, but also the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao areas.

When time came for the announcement of the Darlings of the Press, everyone was cheering for their own bets as the tally of votes came so close among the chosen picks by the Press. Lawrence Chua and Rachel Tan claimed the much-coveted awards. It will be remembered that the reigning titleholders – Jacob Muñez and Joy Wu – were also the recipients of the same honor in 2017 so it really bears watching if Lawrence & Rachel will also take it all the way to the top this year. It certainly won’t be an easy task because there are so many other strong contenders from among the remaining contestants.

Mr & Ms Chinatown Philippines 2018 is presented by the Tak Chun Group in cooperation with Miss Chinatown Foundation, Chinoy TV and Crowne Plaza Manila. Grand Finals will be held on September 2 at the MOA Arena, with TV telecast scheduled on September 9 over ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best.

Below are the fourteen (14) guys vying to become this year’s Mr. Chinatown Philippines. At the moment, the organizers are in the midst of negotiations with an international male pageant where the top winner can represent the country in. Let’s see what surprise is in store for the successor of reigning titleholder Jacob Muñez (left thumbnail).

Share this:

Like this:

Posts navigation

Your Blogger

Hi! Norman here. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time planning on daily blogs. If you will notice, I always make sure that a fresh topic comes out everyday - not an easy thing to do but it's all good. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the visit!

DISCLAIMER

"By viewing this blog, the viewer acknowledges that s/he has read and agrees to the terms of this disclaimer and assumes total responsibility and risk for his/her use of this blog. The content of this blog is published as an information service only and is presented “as is.” Please recognize that the information is general in nature and does not constitute and is not intended to be viewed as expert, legal or professional advice.

It confers no warranties, rights or merchantibility and makes no representations as to its accuracy, completeness or validity. In addition, those opinions expressed by readers and third parties who have elected to post their comments and opinions are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the author who is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by such readers and/or third parties.

The author of this blog is not liable for any errors, omissions, delays, losses, injuries or damages -- be it direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or other -- arising from its display or use.
The author of this blog is also not responsible for the content of, accuracy of, or opinions expressed in third party sites to which this blog links. "